Planer and the like



June 18, 1940. J. M. WALTER 2,204,874

PLANER AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 5, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 H? E \.J=1==-,= 2/

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INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 18, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE PLANER AND THE LIKE corporation of Ohio Application August 5, 1938, Serial No. 222,286

10 Claims.

A slide for a planer or a boring mill, or other machine tool utilizing such apparatus, is usually mounted on a guide known as a harp or swivel, which turns upon a trunnion, pin, or boss mounted upon, or forming a part of, the saddle carrying the tool head. This saddle slides upon a guide or rail so as to move in a horizontal position.

In order to take up the lost motion of such a slide, especially if it is heavy, it is desirable that it be counterweighted. Counterweighting is usually done by running a flexible steel cable anchored at one end to a bracket on the rail, parallel with the rail, thence around a sheave fast to the harp, thence around a sheave fast to the slide, thence around a second sheave fast to the harp, thence again parallel with the rail, and thence around one or more sheaves to a point where a counterweight is suspended. 1

The counterweight is made sufficiently great so that it will always tend to pull the slide upward, thus avoiding lost motion due to play in the feed mechanism of the slide. Consequently vibration and tool pressure will have no effect on the position of the slide.

In order that the slide may move to any desired angular position, it is necessary to unclamp the harp from the saddle by loosening the clamping bolts, so that the harp may turn upon its trunnion and then apply force to one side or the other of the harp in order to cause it to turn upon the saddle into the desired position. After it has reached the desired angular position, which may be determined either from markings on the saddle, or by means of an indicator and sine bar, in a manner already well known in art, the clamping bolts are again tightened.

If the slide is not counterbalanced, the slide and its harp are free to rotate by gravity when the harp bolts are loosened, unless the center of gravity of the slide and harp is immediately above or below the center of rotation. Usually this center of gravity is above the center of. rotation but during the process of adjusting the angle of the harp this central position is altered, and there is a tendency for the slide and harp to overturn. If they are permitted to do so themovement is dangerous and may injure the operator or damage parts or the work. Moreover, it is not easy in the case of large and heavy slides and harps to move the harp to the proper angular position unless special provision is made for so moving it.

By making use of a counterweight cable in a novel arrangement thereof, I am enabled to support the harp and slide by this cable in allpositions so that there is no danger of it overturning, and utiliz the rail feed screws for tilting the harp, by moving the head on which the harp is supported along the rail. The purpose of my invention is to provide such safe and easy means of moving the harp angularly by utilizing the counterweight cable and the other parts of the structure commonly supplied in the case of such a machine.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front view of a planer equipped with two heads on the rail, the heads being counterweighted and provided with my mechanism. A portion of the top brace is shown broken away in order to show the rapid traverse motor and its gearing in diagrammatic section.

Figure 2 is a close up view in section of the slide sheave and guard.

Figure 3 is a side elevation of. the sheave on the slide and the guard which encloses it show- 20 ing the details of the clamp which I employ for swiveling the head.

Figure 4: is a diagram of a modification of the invention.

In the drawings, I is the rail of a planer, 2 is the saddle of the righthand head which is gibbed to the rail and moved longitudinally thereof by screw 3. 5 is a harp swiveled on saddle 2 in the usual manner. 5 is the slide gibbed to the harp. 6a are nuts of the harp bolts ii, the heads of which engage in a circular T slot 2a turned in the face of. the saddle by means of which the harp is held in whatever position it may assume angularly to the rail. There is also preferably another T slot of annular form in the harp which is obscured in the drawings. Bolts 60 engage in this slot and have nuts M for clamping the slide in place. As stated above, this is ordinary practice, and the usual procedure in tilting the harp on the head is to loosen the nuts somewhat and tap the harp around on its pivot on the head, being careful not to permit the harp to swing freely in order to avoid its falling around, with consequent injury to the operator, the machine, the work or all three of them.

There is a stud l on the slide on which turns the sheave 6. Preferably a roller bearing 6a. is provided'forthissheave. A bracket 9 on the harp is provided with two studs it, it, on which freely turning sheaves i l, i l, are mounted. Around the several sheaves is passed a flexible cable l2. This cable is secured fast at one end to the one end of the rail by means of a bracket l3, thence passes around the first sheave l l, down and around the sheave I, back up around the second sheave I I, this arrangement being repeated for each head on the rail. The cable then extends over suitable sheaves indicated at M and I5, to a point where there is suspended thereon a counterweight, sufficient to counterbalance the slides on the several heads. So far as described, this arrangement provides against backlash in operation of tools held in boxes on the slides, by keeping the slides up against the position determining abutment screws IB.

Referring now to the arrangement which is preferably applied to the sheave on the slide. This sheave is mounted in a casting I1, which serves as a guard therefor, which casting is bolted to the face of the slide by means of bolts l8 (Figs. 2 and 3). The guard has a hole I9 for passage of the cable at one side, and at the other side the guard is left open.

Bosses 20, 20 at the upper ends of the guard at back and front at the top of this opening mount an eccentric pin 2!, the ends of which as at 22, 22 are mounted in the bosses, serving as a trunnion. One of the ends 22 is extended and fastened suitably to an operating handle 23, so that the eccentric portion 2| can be rotated by means of the handle.

Hinged on a pin 24 near the bottom of the side opening of the guard is a leaf 25, which lies inside of the eccentric member, so that when the eccentric is rotated, the leaf is pressed inwardly at its upper end. The guard and the leaf have notches 26, 21 therein respectively, forming a passage for the cable, which passage is free for the cable to move, when the leaf is not pressed inwardly by the eccentric. When it is pressed inwardly by the eccentric, however, the cable is clamped at this point.

Now in changing the angular relationship of the harp, the operator first clamps the cable in place by the use of the eccentric. He then will loosen the nuts 6a and 6d, permitting the harp to swivel freely. The harp will not move due to the clamped cable. Then by operating the feed screw on the rail the head will be moved to one side or the other, thus causing the harp to swivel on the head, because the harp cannot move at the clamped position to the cable.

Initially this swivelling operation can be accomplished by the use of a rapid traverse motor such as is shown at 28, at the top of the machine. Then when the angle is approximately correct it can be adjusted to accurate position by means of a hand operation of the feed screws, using a handle directly on the end of the feed screw, if desired. When in proper angular position the harp is clamped up again on the head, and the cable released, whereupon the head can be moved to whatever position is desired along the rail. The counterweight will then function as usual in protecting against back lash on the slide.

Fundamentally, other devices could be employed for clamping the cable, and the clamping devices could be provided in connection with any one of the sheaves on the head. It happens that location of the clamping device on the slide is the most convenient for access and provides the best point for mounting the mechanism.

It will be evident that by the simple arrangement noted I have provided for a quick and accurated swivelling of the harp on planer rail heads, and have made the operation one which is free of the dangers incident to such operations in the past.

Also it will be evident that if the sole object were to swivel safely a head of any type on a guide rail without counterbalancing any parts on said head, the apparatus shown would be effective although nothing was employed but a clamp to secure the cable to the head. In such a construction the counterweight (or its equivalent of a spring or hydraulic piston) would serve the function of permitting the necessary play incident to moving the pivot point of the head along the rail, while the upper end of the head is held to the cable.

Thus in Figure 4 is shown a diagram illustrating such an arrangement. In this diagram the cable 30 is provided with a spring 30a. 3| is a rail with a feed screw 32. 33 is a head with a swivel plate 3 5 swivelling on a center at 35. The cable passes through a bracket 36, with a clevis around the cable which can be gripped to it by means of a nut 31.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a head supported so as to be rotatively adjustable on a sliding of a machine tool, a cable, means for yieldably constraining the cable against movement in an endwise direction with respect to said machine tool and means for clamping the cable to the rotatable head, and means for moving the sliding element.

2. In combination with a head supported so as to be rotatively adjustable on a sliding element of a machine tool, a cable, means for yieldably constraining the cable against movement in an endwise direction with respect to said machine tool and means for clamping the cable to the rotatable head, and means for moving the sliding element, said cable being held fast at one end on said tool.

3. In combination with a head supported so as to be rotatively adjustable on a sliding element of a machine tool, a cable, means for yieldably constraining the cable against endwise movement with respect to said machine tool and means for clamping the cable to the rotatable head, and means for moving the sliding element, said cable being held fast at one end on said tool and having counterbalancing means at the other end, and means for normally guiding said cable with respect to the rotatably supported head.

4. In combination in a machine tool, a rail, a saddle slidable on said rail, means for traversing the saddle on the rail, a member rotatably supported on said saddle, a cable, means for yieldably constraining said cable against movement with respect to said tool in an endwise direction, a guide on the member for said cable, and means for clamping said cable to said member, for the purpose described.

5. In combination in a machine tool, a rail, a saddle slidable on said rail, means for traversing the saddle on the rail, a member rotatably supported on said saddle, a cable, means for yieldably constraining said cable against movement with respect to said tool, a guide on the member for said cable, and means for clamping said cable to said member, for the purpose described, said cable being held fast at one end on said tool, and having counterbalancing means at the other end.

6. In combination with a countcrbalancing cable, a slide, a rail and a saddle supported on the rail and supporting the slide rotatably in a machine tool, of a clamp arranged to grip the cable so as to be immovable with relation to the slide, whereby the slide can be rotated freely on the saddle by a movement of the saddle along the rail.

7. In combination with a rotatably supported head, a slide thereon, means for clamping the head in various angular positions, a counterbalance cable, guide means on the slide engaging said cable whereby the cable counterbalances the slide against downward movement, and means for clamping the cable to the slide, for the purposes described.

8. In combination with a rotatable support and slide thereon on a rail supported planer saddle having means for clamping the slide support in position on said saddle, a counterbalance weight and cable, said cable anchored at one end to the rail of the planer, sheaves on the slide support and slide, around which the cable passes to counterbalance the slide in its support, and means for clamping the cable to a fixed relation with one of the sheaves, for the purpose described.

9. In combination with a head and means for traversing the same, a slideway and slide rotatably supported on the head, means for clamping the slideway in adjusted position on the head, a counterweight and a cable therefor, said cable held yieldably against endwise movement,

sheaves on the slideway and slide, over which the cable passes, said cable so looped as to pull the slide upwardly on the slideway, and means for clamping the cable on the rotatably supported parts, whereby the said parts can be loosened on the head, and caused to rotate by traversing the head to desired angular position with relation thereto, when the cable is clamped to said rotatably supported parts.

10. In combination with a head and means for traversing the same, a slideway and slide rotatably supported on the head, means for clamping the slideway in adjusted position on the head, a counterweight and a cable therefor, said cable held fast at one end, sheaves on the slideway and slide, over which the cable passes, said cable so looped as to pull the slide upwardly on the slideway, and means for clamping the cable on the rotatably supported parts, whereby the said parts can be loosened on the head, and caused to rotate by feeding the head to desired angular position with relation thereto, when the cable is clamped to said rotatabls supported parts, said clamp being located on the slide.

JOHN M. WALTER. 

